June  /,  1886. 

No.  6.  Price,  5  Cts 

Published  Monthly.  Per  Tear,  $1.00. 


SOCIALISM 


AND 


ANARCHISM, 


ANTAGONISTIC  OPPOSITES. 


Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  New  York  City,  as  Second  Class  Mail  Matter. 


NEW  YORK. 

National  Executive  Committee  of  the  Socialistic  Labor  Party, 
261  East  Tenth  Street. 

1886. 


Avery  Arc  hitectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  Y<  >kk  Library 


Socialism  and  Anarchism. 


—  ANTAGONISTIC  OPPOSITES  — 


In  reading  the  newspapers,  we  find  the  two  names  men- 
tioned above  frequently  put  side  by  side.  Nay,  we  find  them  also 
associated  with  the  terms  Communism  and  Nihilism,  as  though 
these  four  "  isms"  had  the  closest  relation  to  each  other.  This  is 
a  mistake.  Socialism  and  Anarchism  are  opposites  which  have 
nothing  in  common  but  their  appurtenance  to  Social  Science. 
Socialists  and  Anarchists  as  such  are  enemies.  They  pursue 
contrary  aims,  and  the  success  of  the  former  will  destroy  forever 
the  fanatical  hopes  of  the  latter. 

It  is  true  that  iu  theories,  both  are  thoroughly  dissatisfied 
with  the  present  state  of  human  society  and  its  politics,  and 
that  they  severely  criticize  almost  all  the  economical  and 
political  constitutions  and  laws,  teachings  and  practices,  as 
now  understood.  But  they  do  so  from  very  different  points  of 
view.  The  Anarchist  worships  at  the  shrine  of  Liberty.  Liberty 
is  his  goddess,  and  his  only  diety,  in  theory  at  least.  He 
rejects  all  laws  imposed  on  him  from  without,  and  respects  only 
such  laws  as  he  himself  ordains.  He  wants  no  association  but  with 
men  of  his  own  turn  of  mind,  no  rule  of  the  majority,  no  sub- 
mission under  any  will  but  his  own,  no  discipline.  He  im- 
agines that  human  society  may  be  reorganized  in  the  following 
way:  When  persons  enough  are  converted  to  his  ideas,  all  pre- 
sent institutions  are  to  be  destroyed,  State  and  church,  property 
and  laws,  of  course,  foremost.  Reorganization  then  may  begin  by 
the  voluntary  association  of  gioups  of  such  persons  as  are 
thoroughly  in  accord ;  these  groups  may  form  larger  societies  for 
certain  special  purposes  of  work  or  enjoyment;  and  these  societies 
may  agree  with  other  such  for  still  more  special  aims,  and  so  on 
till  all  mankind  is  voluntarily  organized.    And  since  men  are 


2 


changeable  in  their  ideas,  purposes  and  whims,  each  of  the  groups, 
societies  and  their  connections  may  dissolve  and  differently  reor- 
ganize themselves,  as  often  as  they  see  fit,  without  ever  applying 
constraint  upon  one  another. 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  we  misrepresent  the  Anarchistic 
theory.  We  would  gladly  quote  from  their  writings  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  our  st.itements  ;  but  as  no  book  is  in  existence  in 
which  their  theory  is  taught  connectedly,  we  would  need  a  great 
deal  of  scattered  sayings  found  in  their  newspapers,  in  order  to 
present  their  own  documentary  evidence.  Our  readers  may, 
however,  find  in  Benjamin  R.  Tucker  s  weekly  "  Liberty  "  (box 
3366,  Boston,  Mass.)  an  Anarchistic  organ  which  they  may  take  for 
an  authority  on  the  subject,  and  an  interesting  one,  too.  Our 
readers  will,  of  course,  call  the  above  ideas  an  Utopia  and  utterly 
unpractical ;  of  our  own  opinion  in  this  respect  we  will  speak 
later  on. 

Socialism,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  antipode  of  Anarchism.  It 
presupposes  human  society  as  a  growth  which  develops  itself 
from  the  simplest  beginnings  in  oldest  times  through  many  changes 
into  what  it  is.  Society  cannot  be  dissolved  and  reorganized. 
If  it  is  to  be  renewed,  it  has  to  do  it  and  does  so  gradually  at  all 
times.  It  obeys  its  own  inborn  laws,  and  the  efforts  of  single 
men  and  sects  cannot  even  give  it  any  other  direction  but  the  one 
which  is  inherent  and  prepared.  Scientific  truth  and  discoveries 
may  hasten  or  retard  its  development,  but  can  little  change  it. 
This  is  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  that  most  modern  form  of 
Socialism  which  was  originated  by  Karl  Marx,  which  calls  itself 
Social  Democracy,  and  is  so  widely  spread  in  Germany  and  many 
other  countries  of  Europe,  and  bids  fair  to  convert  mankind. 

According  to  this  doctrine  which  is  well  established  by  histori- 
cal and  scientific  research,  human  society  began  in  tribes  which 
were  enlarged  families,  of  blood  relationship  and  had  a  communis- 
tic and  democratic  institution,  such  as  we  still  find  preserved 
among  Indians,  Arabs,  nomadic  tribes  generally,  and  traces  or 
remnants  of  which  may  yet  be  witnessed  in  old  customs  of  every 
civilized  nation.  At  this  stage  of  development  the  first  division 
of  labor  was  invented,  together  with  the  first  attempts  at  agricul- 
ture, the  taming  of  wild  animals  and  the  improvement  of  plants 
into  plants  of  culture.  When  the  working  in  metals  was  invented, 
and  new,  powerful  weapons  gave  some  tribes  an  ascendancy  over 
others,  wars  on  a  larger  scale  were  inaugurated  for  the  conquest 
of  land  and  the  enslavement  of  weaker  tribes — and  thus  mon- 
archic and  feudalistic  institutions,  based  on  enslaved  labor,  arose 
and  founded  large  realms,  laws  for  the  government  of  the  slaves 
and  all  but  the  lawgivers  who  rarely  obeyed  their  own  laws.  At 
this  stage  private  property  came  into  existence.    After  a  vain  at- 


3  — 


tempt  at  re-establishing,  in  the  old  Greek  and  Roman  republics,  the 
original  communistic  democracy  and  republic,  despotism  remained 
victorious,  and  after  the  conquest  of  the  Roman  Empire  through 
German  and  Mongol  barbarians,  their  communism  was  blended 
with  the  Roman  physical  and  mental  despotism  in  the  feudalism 
of  the  Middle  Age. 

Most  of  the  old  inventions  and  discoveries,  together  with  the 
contemporary  method  of  production  and  distribution  of  pioducts, 
were  lost,  as  was  the  best  portion  of  antique  science  and  art.  Yet 
a  vestige  of  ancient  democracy  and  communism  was  preserved 
through  the  German  conquerors,  and  ins'itutions  were  founded 
which  secured  a  sufficiency  of  support  for  every  walk  in  life. 
Everybody  was  more  or  less  provided  for  and  could  hardly  ever 
become  entirely  helpless.  In  the  walled  cities  a  new  democracy 
sprang  up,  and  new  inventions  and  discoveries  were  made,  or  old 
ones  renewed.  Thus  it  was  again  the  method  of  production  which 
revolutionized  all  religion,  State  constitutions,  social  organizations 
and  laws.  The  invention  of  gunpowder,  gradually  eradicating 
knighthood  and,  through  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  America, 
inaugurated  the  modern  period,  in  which  capital  became  supreme 
arbiter  of  the  fate  of  nations,  and  set  the  human  mind  discover- 
ing and  inventing,  dissolving  all  old  prejudices,  superstitions 
and  dogmas.  This  fourth  great  period  of  development  cultivated 
for  ihe  second  time  in  history  an  excessive  individualism  and 
established  anarchy. 

Modern  production  is  essentially  anarchical,  though  under  the 
skillful  semblance  of  law.  The  majority  of  men  are,  or  soon  be- 
come, disinherited,  because  land,  buildings,  money — all  the  great 
means  of  labor  are  the  property  of  capitalists,  which  is  protected 
by  State  and  church;  they  must,  in  order  to  live,  sell  their  only 
property,  their  working  force,  for  what  capitalists  will  pay  for  it, 
which  is  rarely  more  than  one-half  of  its  real  value.  Labor  be- 
comes a  merchandize,  which,  like  every  other,  is  sold  for  what  it 
will  bring.  And  as  the  supply  of  labor  is,  or  soon  becomes 
greater  than  the  demand  for  it,  the  competition  of  capitalists  for 
the  world's  market  of  their  goods  prevents  them  from  paying 
more  for  labor  than  what  it  c->sts  to  keep  its  soul  and  body  to- 
gether. Production  is  no  longer  calculated  to  satisfy  consumption 
of  merchandize;  no  producing  capitalist  can  foresee  how  large 
the  demand  for  his  merchandize  will  be  ;  but  every  one  has  the 
motive  to  outbid  his  c  ^mpetitors  for  the  market.  Consumption  is 
artificially  simulated;  a  hundred  ingenious  means  are  invented 
to  make  people  buy  what  they  do  not  really  need,  simply  because 
it  is  cheap  and  showy.  Here  comes  the  invention  of  thousands 
of  new  and  steadily  improved  machines  and  a  nicer  subdivision 
of  labor  manipulations,  to  produce  always  more  cheaply  and  to 


monopolize  the  world's  markets  with  the  aid  of  conquests,  treaties 
colonization  and  the  ruin  of  old  native  industries.  Women  and 
children  are  pressed  into  the  service  of  manufactories  and 
to  supplant  men,  especially  the  expert  and  educated  handi- 
craftsmen. If  that  is  not  sufficient  to  render  production 
cheap,  and  labor  submissive,  and  profits  large,  foreign  cheap 
labor  is  imported,  and  the  organization  of  laborers  for  mutual 
protection  of  their  standard  of  life  is  warred  against.  Men  are 
made  cheap  for  the  sake  of  rendering  merchandize  cheap.  Few 
men  can  now  follow  a  congenial  vocation  and  natural  inclination 
to  work;  they  must  drudge  as  servants  of  machines  and  overseers, 
simply  for  the  profit  of  capitalists.  The  latter  themselves  oust 
one  another  from  the  market,  each  manufacturing  nation  is  at 
industrial  war  with  all  others,  and  more  and  more  capitalists  are 
ruined  for  the  benefit  of  fewer  .ind  fewer  large  ones. 

This  is  anarchy  under  the  disguise  of  peace,  law  and  order. 
Anarchy  rules  supreme  in  all  modern  countries,  whether  republi- 
can or  monarchical,  democratic  or  despotical,  protectionist  or  free 
trade.  And  the  result  is  the  general  impoverishment  of  a  majori- 
ty of  every  nation,  the  destruction  of  capital  itself  by  the  utter 
ruin  of  the  purchasing  power  of  nations,  and  commercial  and 
financial  crises  and  crashes  which  return  every  few  years,  on  an 
ever  larger  scale.  And  all  the  statesmanship  in  existence  is 
utterly  unable  to  remedy  this  self-imposed  misery  and  retro- 
gradation. 

All  this  was  foreseen  and  prophesied  by  the  science  of  the 
political  economy  of  the  social-democratic  school  of  Karl  Marx. 
But  their  doctrine,  although  never  controverted,  was  discredited, 
and  the  party  advocating  it  was  subjected  to  persecutions  of 
all  kinds,  as  though  they  were  not  physicians  of  the  sick  times, 
but  quacks  and  the  cause  of  all  the  world's  misery.  They  knew 
that  all  prophets  were  doomed  to  martyrdom  and  took  to  endur- 
ance and  quiet  organization,  and  propaganda  of  their  ideas  among 
the  masses.  The  sacrifices  of  the  old  Christian  martyrs  were  re- 
produced, at  least  in  Europe,  and  tens  of  thousands  paid  with 
their  lives  for  the  confession  of  their  sacred  and  well  demonstra- 
ble convictions. 

Xo  wonder  that  a  few  of  this  great  host  of  sufferers  lost  their 
patience  and  turned  out  practical  Anarchists.  Despairing  of  any 
other  rescue  than  by  forcible  means,  and  goaded  on  by  the  mur- 
der and  ruin  of  thousands  of  comrades,  they  vowed  bloody 
revenge  and  became  criminals  from  motives  of  humanity.  They 
preached,  and,  in  a  few  cases,  practiced  murder  and  robbery  of 
those  whom  they  in  their  despair  took  for  members  of  a  murder- 
ing and  robbing  class. 

We  Social  Democrats  do  not  imitate,  do  not  even  excuse  them. 


But  we  charge  their  guilt,  their  legal  crimes,  on  the  ruling  class 
which  has  made  them  what  they  are.  No  doubt,  they  are  guilty,, 
not  only  in  the  opinion  of  the  existing  iniquitous  law,  but  of 
eternal  humane  law  ;  but  far  more  guilty  are  the  present  incom- 
petent and  inhumane  rulers  of  society  and  the  State.  Their 
reeking  corruption,  their  perversion  of  all  truth  in  science 
and  morals  to  base  ends,  their  incompetence  to  remedy  the  evils 
which  they  inflict  upon  the  innocent  majority  of  sufferers 
under  their  unnatural  and  immoral  laws  condemn  them.  We  do 
not  deny  that  there  are,  in  this  ruling  class,  very  many  well-mean- 
ing, but  misinformed  persons ;  but  their  utter  blindness  tc  the 
facts  that  round  about  them  stare  into  their  faces,  is  of  itself 
inexcusable. 

We  can  now  return  to  the  exposition  of  what  Social  Democracy 
is.  The  foregoing  excursion  was  indispensable  to  the  better  un- 
derstanding of  what  follows: 

Our  Socio-Democratic  science  demonstrates  that  the  present 
form  of  Society  and  Government  works  its  own  speedy  destruc- 
tion. Seen  from  the  economical  standpoint,  society  produces 
more,  and  is  able  to  produce  many  times  more,  than  it  can  con- 
sume. Side  by  side  with  enormous  stores  of  grain,  flour,  victuals,, 
millions  of  men,  women  and  children  are  unable  to  procure  by 
work  the  means  wherewith  to  buy  sufficient  food.  Men  and 
women  willing  to  work  in  the  line  of  clothing  and  covering  of  the 
body  do  actually  freeze  or  sicken  in  front  of  filled  magazines  of 
tissues,  clothing  and  men's  and  women's  wear.  Builders  of 
houses,  miners  of  fuel,  workers  in  furniture  may  not  find  a  dwell- 
ing, raa\  be  unable  to  warm  their  bodies  and  ease  their  weary 
limbs,  while  there  is  an  abundance  of  goods  that  might  satisfy 
the;r  wants.  The  execrable  nonsense,  the  incredible  folly  is  a 
tangible  reality,  that  there  are  too  many  workers  of  every  kind 
and — at  the  same  time — too  many  persons  unable  to  purchase 
what  they  could  produce,  just  because  there  is  too  much  merchan- 
dize of  every  kind  for  sale.  Men  by  the  million  are  becoming 
superfluous  because  they  have  not  the  means  to  work,  while  such 
means  exist  in  too  great  an  abundance.  And  this  insane  state  of 
things  is  formed  at  a  time  when  the  most  stupendous  discoveries 
and  inventions  are  known  and  may  be  made  almost  to  order. 
The  age  of  scientific  wonders  and  technical  perfection  is  also  the 
age  of  total  inability  of  the  learned  world  to  remedy  the  simplest 
wants  of  the  greatest  number  of  persons!  Less  than  a  century 
after  the  spurious  discovery  made  by  Malthus  that  mankind 
would  multiply  in  a  geometrical,  and  their  food  only  in  an  arith- 
metical progression,  the  fact  is  established,  that  food  and  all  the 
first  necessities  of  man  are  being  produced  in  a  far  greater  ratio 
than  we  find  purchasers  ! 


All  the  teachings  of  religion  and  philosphy  are  ridiculed  by  the 
practices  of  State  and  church,  legislation  and  intercourse,  even  in 
Christian  countries  !  Nations  professing  the  religion  of  universal 
brotherhood  carry  on  wars  with  the  most  perfect  means  of  murder 
and  destruction  that  may  be  imagined.  Millions  of  soldiers  in 
the  Old  World,  and  even  in  the  New,  are  kept  on  foot,  avowed- 
ly to  guard  the  peace  among  nations  who  worship  as  God  the 
great  herald  of  "  Peace  on  earth  and  good  will  among  men!"  The 
very  language  is  full  of  hypocrisy  and  deception.  Industry  is 
nowadays  the  means  of  supporting,  by  overwork  of  a  majority, 
in  idleness  and  sensuous  luxury,  a  minority  which  cannot  even 
claim  any  merits!  "Law  and  Order"  are  pretexts  for  throwing 
mankind  into  a  state  of  anarchy  and  all  but  universal  dissatis- 
faction ! 

They  call  wages  labor — "free  labor" — while  it  must  be  sold 
afresh  from  day  to  day,  in  order  to  continue  existence;  they  call 
it  a  free  contract  when  the  disinherited  worker  has  no  longer  his 
own  means  of  labor,  but  must  work  for  an  owner  of  means  of  labor 
at  a  rate  of  wages  which  amounts,  as  a  rule,  to  hardly  half  of  the 
product  of  his  labor.  They  call  capital  the  one  portion  of  the 
proceeds  of  labor  which  is  not  consumed,  but  accumulated  for 
further  production,  and  they  omit  to  mention  that  it  is  the  one 
portion  of  the  proceeds  of  labor  which  is  withheld  from  the 
laborer,  of  which  he  is  robbed  under  the  permission  of  law;  in 
short,  that  capital  is  the  accumulated  stealings  and  pickings  from 
the  property  of  other  men.  They  call  property  what  is  not  the 
fruit  of  one's  own  labor,  while  there  cannot  be  any  other  reason- 
able title  to  property  than  work.  And  this  list  of  hypocritical 
confusion  of  terms  might  be  lengthened  ad  libitum.  In  fact,  all 
institutions  of  society  and  law  are  nowadays  hypocritical,  and 
demoralize  the  public  sense  of  truth  and  honesty. 

It  is  the  merit  of  Social  Democracy  to  have  established  this 
new  cognition  and  science.  It  has  cleared  up  what  never  could 
be  explained  by  the  old  political  economy:  the  cause  of  commercial 
crises;  of  the  impoverishment  of  the  majority  in  every  nation;  of 
the  enormous  opposites  in  the  condition  of  men.  It  is  no  longer 
a  marvel  why  there  can  be  and  are  hundredfold  millionaires  here, 
and  an  abject  poveity  of  a  mass  of  proletarians  there;  why  com- 
mercial crises  are  spread  likewise  over  republics  and  monarchies 
and  despotical  States,  over  protectionist  and  free  trade  countries, 
over  Protestant,  Catholic,  and  other  communities;  why  all  the 
"  statesmen"  and  wiseacres  of  the  press  are  utterly  unable  to  sug- 
gest a  thorough  remedy  to  commercial  depressions  and  the  di- 
vision of  mankind  into  a  ruling  class  and  a  ruled  class,  into  all- 
powerful  money  kings  and  moneyed  corporations  on  the  one  hand, 
and  an  immense  majority  of  paupers,  or  what  must  ultimately 


become  paupers,  on  the  other  hand.  This  riddle  is  solved  by  the 
school  of  Karl  Marx-  The  one  great  cause  of  all  the  ruin  of 
society  and  States  is  this,  that  labor  never  receives  the  full  pro- 
ceeds of  its  product;  but  must,  because  it  is  disinherited,  create 
capital  for  a  minority — the  owners  of  means  of  labor,  of  land, 
buildings,  machines,  money,  etc,  by  creating  surplus  value,  furn- 
ishing surplus  labor,  more  labor  than  is  paid  for,  working 
surplus  time,  more  time  than  is  required  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
its  own  sustenance.  And  the  only  thorough  remedy  is  not  to  work 
and  produce  more  than  what  can  be  consumed  by  the  producers 
themselves. 

It  is  by  working  for  wages,  i.  e.,  for  less  than  the  proceeds  of 
our  labor,  by  creating  a  surplus  value  for  people  who  might  work, 
but  do  not  work,  and  by  thus  creating  private  capital  in  their 
hands,  that  we  ruin  society  and  politics.  On  the  contrary,  by 
working  only  as  much  as  is  needed  by  all  the  useful  workers,  and 
by  creating  the  necessary  capital  through  our  own  contributions 
and  doing  away  with  all  private  capitalism,  can  we  put  an  end  to 
all  slavery,  blood-sucking  practices,  revolutions,  political  corrup- 
tion and  avoidable  misery  in  general,  and  we  can  procure  all  the 
means  of  a  true,  universal  and  high  education,  and  improve  the 
universal  morality  and  brotherhood  of  men. 

This,  in  a  nutshell,  is  the  theory  of  Social  Democracy.  It  must 
be  added,  that  such  a  new  state  of  things  will  be  effected  more  by 
the  natural  development  of  economics  than  by  our  teachings. 
The  evils  engendered  by  private  capitalism  are  so  formidable  and 
growing  in  so  rapid  a  proportion,  and  the  wisdom  of  "  statesmen  " 
and  self-constituted  rulers  is  so  impotent,  that  society  can 
not  continue  in  its  old  ruts  much  longer.  The  anarchy  of 
society  and  politics  will,  within  perhaps,  the  nineteenth  century 
of  our  era,  have  exhausted  its  vitality  and  out  of  despair  run  into  a 
new  issue,  akin  to  the  Socialist  proposition.  And  there  is  so  much 
wisdom  and  scientific  and  artistic  knowledge  and  experience  still 
left  in  the  world,  though  ousted  from  the  right  place,  that,  once  di- 
rected in  the  proper  channels,  a  complete  renewal  of  society  and 
constitutions  may  be  broughtabout,  withoutvery  violent  and  bloody 
convulsions.  The  conviction  once  impressed  upon  a  majority 
of  workers  that  private  capitalism  is  doomed  to  abolition,  together 
with  wages,  slavery,  corruption  and  class  dominion,  a  new  form  of 
social  life  and  political  practice  may  be  inaugurated  almost  with- 
out severe  throes  of  birth.  What  alone  is  needed  in  the  meantime 
is  enlightenment  of  the  working  masses  (workers,  both  with  mind 
and  body)  about  the  doom  of  private  capitalism,  a  doom  of  its 
own  make,  which  cannot  be  prevented. 

From  this  short  exposition  it  may  be  seen  that  Socialism  is  the 
most  decided  enemy  to  both  the  Anarchism  of  the  capitalistic 


class,  and  the  Anarchism  of  those  revolutionists  who  have  been 
rendered  more  or  less  crazy  by  the  cruelties  and  revolting  injustice 
of  our  present  "  law  and  order."  In  fact,  this  latter  class  of  An- 
archists hate  us  more  than  they  hate  the  other  class  of  Anarchists, 
or  anybody.  If  they  were  paid  by  Bismarck,  or  Czar  Alexander 
III.,  or  Jay  Gould  for  destroying  our  organization,  they  could 
not  more  efficiently  go  about  it  than  they  really  do.  Their 
actions  stultify  their  teachings,  and  vice  versa.  They  conspire 
with  the  least  enlightened  and  most  pliant  elements  against  us, 
the  only  apostles  of  a  better  future. 

We  do  not  in  the  least  deny  that  we  have  little  hope  for  an  en- 
tirely peaceful  renewal  of  society  and  politics,  and  that  we  may 
have  to  fight  for  the  redemption  of  the  working  class  from  the 
threatening  complete  thraldom.  But  that  war  must  be  forced 
upon  us — we  try  our  best  efforts  to  avoid  it,  and  though  this  may 
be  impossible  in  most  of  the  European  States,  we  must  and  do 
consider  it  possible  in  the  United  States,  and  wherever  freedom 
of  speech  and  of  the  press,  the  right  to  peacefully  assemble  and 
organize,  and  universal  suffrage  (inclusive  of  the  suffrage  ot 
women)  are  not  curtailed  by  existing  laws.  We  are  fully  out- 
spoken in  our  ideas  and  aims,  all  our  working  for  redemption  is 
above  board,  we  shun  secret  organization  for  our  purposes.  Our 
platform  of  principles,  which  will  be  found  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  treatise,  means  what  it  professes,  no  more,  no  less. 

We,  therefore,  protest  against  being  confounded  and  in  any  way 
identified  with  Anarchists  of  any  type;  we  are  the  implacable 
enemies  of  all  anarchism.  And,  if  we  are  sometimes  designated 
as  Communists,  we  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  our  Communism 
is  different  from  all  other  Communism  in  that  we  demand  nothing 
in  common  but  capital — the  great  means  of  labor  (land,  buildings, 
machines,  money)  because  all  capital  has  been  and  is  partly  a 
gratuitous  gift  of  Nature  to  all,  partly  being  created  by  the  labor 
of  all  mankind,  and  nothing  can  reasonably  be  private  property 
but  the  full  proceeds  of  one's  own  labor,  as  agreed  upon  by  com- 
mon compromise.  Our  Communism  is  not  sectarian,  but  truly 
universal,  and  compatible  with  the  highest  degree  of  liberty  which 
is  at  all  attainable.  The  most  correct  term  for  our  Communism 
would,  perhaps,  be  Collectivism,  as  it  is  now  called  in  France.  As 
regards  the  term  Nihilism,  we  have  to  state  that,  even  in  Russia, 
what  was,  half  a  century  ago,  stigmatized  as  Nihilism,  is  no  longer 
in  existence,  but  supplanted  by  either  practical  Anarchism  of  a 
propagandistic  kind,  or  revolutionary  conspiracy  of  all  classes,  as 
far  as  their  reflection  has  begun. 

Finally,  as  may  be  gathered  from  our  platform,  we  are  a  propa- 
gandistic organization  which  goes  han  i  in  hand  with  the  great  labor 
movement  that  is  now  refermenting  the  society  of  the  world;  and 


we  shall  be  revolutionists  only  when  forced  into  being  such  by 
legislation  and  persecution  withholding  from  us  the  means  of  a 
peaceable  propaganda.  We,  Socialists,  have  come  to  stay;  de- 
pend upon  it. 


PLATFORM  OF  THE  SOCIALISTIC  LABOR  PARTY. 


Labor  being  the  only  creator  of  all  wealth  and  civilization,  it  rightfully  follows 
that  those  who  perform  all  labor  and  create  all  wealth  should  enjoy  the  result  of 
their  toil. 

But  this  is  rendered  impossible  by  the  modern  system  of  production,  which, 
since  the  discovery  of  steam-power  and  since  the  general  introduction  of  ma- 
chines, is  in  all  branches  of  industry  carried  with  such  gigantic  means  and  appli- 
ances as  but  a  few  are  able  to  possess. 

The  present  industrial  system  is  cooperative  in  one  respect  only,  which  is  : 
That  not,  as  in  former  times,  the  individual  works  alone  for  his  own  account,  but 
dozens,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  work  together  in  shops,  in  mines,  on 
huge  farms  and  lands,  cooperating  according  to  the  most  efficient  division  of 
labor.  But  the  fruits  of  this  cooperative  labor  are  not  reaped  by  the  workers 
themselves,  but  are  in  a  great  measure  appropriated  by  the  owners  of  the  means 
of  production,  to  wit:  of  the  machines,  of  the  factories,  of  the  mines  and  of  the 
1  and. 

This  system,  by  gradually  extinguishing  the  middle  class,  necessarily  produces 
two  separate  sets  of  men  :  That  class  of  the  workers,  and  that  of  the  great  bosses. 
It  brings  forth  as  its  natural  outgrowths: 

The  planlessness  and  reckless  rate  of  production. 
The  waste  of  human  and  natural  forces. 
•The  commercial  and  industrial  crisis. 

The  constant  uncertainty  of  the  material  existence  of  the  wage-workers. 

The  misery  of  the  proletarian  masses. 

The  accumulation  of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few. 

Such  a  condition,  which  under  the  present  industrial  regime  cannot  but  become 
more  and  more  aggravated,  is  inconsistent  with  the  interests  of  mankind,  with  the 
principles  of  justice  and  true  democracy,  as  it  destroys  those  rights  which  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  of  the  United  States  held  to  be  inalienable  in  all 
men,  viz:  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

This  condition  shortens  and  imperils  life  by  want  and  misery.  It  destroys 
liberty  because  the  economical  subjection  of  the  wage-workers  to  the  owners  of 
the  means  of  production  immediately  leads  to  their  political  dependence,  and  it 
finally  frustrates  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  which  is  never  possible  when  life  and 
personal  liberty  are  in  constant  danger. 

To  put  an  end  to  this  degrading  state  of  things,  we  strive  to  introduce  the  per- 
fect system  of  cooperative  production— that  is,  we  demand  that  the  workers  obtain 
the  undivided  product  of  their  toil. 

This  being  only  feasible  by  securing  to  the  workers  control  of  the  means  of  pro- 
duction. 

We  demand: 

That  the  land,  the  instruments  of  production  (machines,  factories,  etc.,)  and  the 
products  of  labor  become  the  common  property  of  the  whole  people;  and, 

That  all  production  be  organized  cooperatively,  and  be  carried  on  under  the 
direction  of  the  commonwealth;  as  also  the  cooperative  distribution  of  the  pro- 
ducts according  to  the  service  rendered,  and  to  the  just  needs  of  the  individuals. 


SOCIALISTIC  LA  DR  PARTY 


OF  NORTH  AhlfRICA, 

National  Executive  Committee,  New  York  City, 

W  L.  BOSENBEBG,  Secretary,  261  East  Tenth  Street. 
Supervisory  Board,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 

CAKL  ALTENBEBND,  33  Mill  Street 

All  corrwpnrul ence,  communications  remittance*  of  money,  and  ordert 
for  pamphlet*  intemled  for  the  National  Executive  Committee  are,  with- 
out exception,  to  be  addressed  to 

W  L.  ROSENBERG, 

281  E-iet  Tenth  Street,  New  York  City. 


Publications  in  the  English  Language. 


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Bebel,  August  (Social  Democratic  Drputy  in  the  Reichs- 

taar.) — Woman  in  the  Past,  Present  and  future. . .  .30 

Douai,  Dr.  A. — Better  Times,  30  pages   .05 

Free  Tradb  in  Drink. — An  argument  for  curing 
National  Drunkenness  by  abolishing  the  licensing 

system   .10 

0BORGE  Henry, — Progress  and  Poverty,  CI.,  35c.  pap.  .20 

Social  Problem*,   "    35c.  "  .20 

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Gronlund,  Laurence, —  Th«  Co-operative  Common- 
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Cloth  75c  paper.  -85 
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Hyndman,  H.  M. — Socialism  and  Slavery   20 

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Jonas,  A. — Reporter  and  Socialist.  00  pages,  an  inter- 
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 The  Eight  Hour  Work-day,  100  copies  60 

Joynes,  J.  L. — Socialist  Catechism  24  pages  05 

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1885,  London  05 


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